Place of Refuge

Place of Refuge

13 April 2011

the face I wear





the face I wear,
I didn't choose,
so why do you judge me by it?

the color of my hair,
too,
came with this machine,
this avatar,
I found myself trapped within at birth,
so why make jokes about it?



my body too, was not my fault,
and I didn't buy my skin 
color in a bottle on a shelf


I gained them all
the same way you gained yours:

it was an accident of birth.

For some it's lucky;
for some it's not;

our challenge is to see beyond
and behind
the superficial artifices
we face everyday,
and find the fellow soul
beneath.



It's not my fault,
the way I look to you;


I only wish you
would give me a chance
to be not the person you think I am,
but rather the person
I long to be.
 

1 comment:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Yes, "accidents of birth" are probably the most powerful determinant of our life's circumstances. For good and bad.